All That Jazz
by sheanio
Summary: The aftermath of The Great War was still buzzing around America and prohibition is in full effect, the law is cracking down on illicit booze and the bars selling them to the weary worker. Eren was beginning to think that maybe the Bachelor's life would be better suited for him when he was picked up and placed into the lap of a rather short barber as entertainer for his speakeasy.
1. Chapter 1

Soft conversations filled the small backroom, cramped but not so much that it was uncomfortable. During these times, places like this were necessary, people unable to face their demons on their own, or simply wanted to down the giggle water he so generously procured to the masses would come to drink his hooch. "Don't get caught out there, Zoe. Our good favor with the bull only goes so far as the exit." Subdued lights were on overhead, a few people glanced up but quickly returned to their beers. In such a place with such a person it would not be smart to dally on words exchanged, else a bum's rush awaited them.

The owner of this particular speakeasy was in good with the big shot police man in town, provided that there would be good alcohol and drinks to be had when the time was right. Due to this the speakeasy resting underneath the streets of Sharon was relatively safe, the commander would turn a blind eye to most goings on so long as bodies didn't show up, however he couldn't do anything if his men performed a raid. Not that it mattered much, the police depended on speakeasies just as much as the blue collars that roll in. They always give warnings to the places thought to have them so they could get rid of the evidence.

Bright eyes turned back to meet the voice's speaker with a grin. "Oh I can't forget that, Levi! You tell me that every time I leave!"

"Because knowing you, you would bring back the entire force on your tail." Levi poured another Martini; they had gotten popular in recent years as most gin-based drinks had in this age, gin being easy to make and sell. Hanji waved good bye, laughing as he left through a thick wooden panel which lead up a flight of stairs into the back store room behind another panel.

Hanji waved to the doll watching the front, during the day the place was a little barber shop which happened stayed open to very late hours, who sat there doing homework. She knew what went on after hours but liked Levi enough not to say anything. Besides, the patrons would have to go through her to get into the speakeasy and this lady was someone not to mess with when push came to shove. "Petra, why are you all dressed up? Are you going to a joint later with some lad on your arm?" He leaned onto the counter, chin resting in one hand as Petra turned her gaze from her books into Hanji's.

"I was thinking about it, but I'm not sure, y'know?" Petra shrugged, the long necklaces hanging from her neck glinting in the light.

"I guess. Still though, all dolled up and no where to go? What a sad night!"

"Beat it you jerk!" Petra laughed and smacked Hanji's arm with a notepad, causing the other one to laugh in turn as he left onto the streets.

It was still evening, everything was painted orange as the hazy sun set behind the roofs of the buildings. It was a bit early for the speakeasy to open, but Hanji had never been one to question Levi's judgement; He's been doing this for a long while in this age and had a very certain air about him that Hanji could respect. The shop itself wasn't in a bad place either. Yes it was in a seedier side of town; a few cracked windows, bars on a few more, some bums and winos on the street begging for change, but it wasn't so bad that extra protection was necessary. Hell occasionally they even got some street performers coming down this way to play a few songs for some coins.

The police weren't out in force today, Erwin must be coming over tonight, he will have to remember to let Levi know as soon as he gets back. A newsie stood on a corner, shouting out headlines from the evening edition of the paper. He was shouting out headlines, mostly information pertaining to the raid that happened this afternoon at a speakeasy across the city. Hanji would have thought that that would have made Levi a bit more cautious in opening his place up tonight, but again. Levi's been doing this longer than that newsie's even been alive.

Hanji tossed a nickel to the kid on the street corner and picked up a paper, nodding to him with a smile and went on his way. News paper tucked under his arm, for later reading when things got slow, he turned a corner to see a small crowd gathered around a singular person who had stationed himself beneath a street lamp, giving him his own spotlight, a trumpet crooned over the noise they were making and quickly staccatoed into a lively rendition of the Bugle Call Rag people had been hearing in the legal joints. A few of them clapped along and some of the younger kids danced a bit, as the kid played what he could of the song that really required a full band to play right, flubbing parts as he went along and adding licks where there should have been a change in who carried the melody. He finished a moment later, bowing to his audience with his hat proffered, some people putting in a few coins as it passed by them.

_Oh yes, Levi would like this kid; he'd been looking for someone to play as an entertainer anyway._ Hanji approached as a few of the other characters were leaving, the kid drumming the valves to his trumpet as he put it to his lips once more to play some upbeat sounding song that he'd never heard before; It had a good tune though and was catchy enough a fast enough beat to dance to while being slow enough that it wouldn't get your blood pumping if you didn't want to. He finished once again, proffering his cap to the remaining audience as he accepted their generous donations to line his pockets, Hanji stepped forward placing two dollars in the hat and relishing the look the kid gave him when he saw the money.

"Thank you!" What a pretty voice. Pretty everything too. Stunning teal eyes; very intense eyes. Couldn't have been older than nineteen. _Yes Levi would like this a lot._ "If you want something special played let me know!"

"No, I'm good on that. But I do have an offer for you." Immediately the kid stood up straight; the light in his eyes a bit dulled. "No, no, nothing illegal of that nature, I don't need you to bump someone off. Care for a private word? I know a great place where we can chat freely." He was _so_ taking him back to the shop. Petra would love him.

"...Sure." The kid was hesitant to agree, but that was something Hanji understood. You didn't get to live on the streets long without gaining some level of caution when dealing with strangers. "I'm Eren by the way. Eren Jaeger."

"Jaeger? That's German, isn't it?" _The kid's from Germany? Well shit, that explains a bit of the hesitation._ "Hanji," He responded. "But everyone calls me Zoe, so you can too." Eren collected his things as he listened and put his trumpet back in its case before following him down the road. "How would you like to perform in a little club I work at?"

"A club?"

"Yeah, I know the owner and he's been looking for some good consistent entertainment for his clientele."

"And you want me to do that? Why not a professional band?"

"For reasons I can't publicly disclose." Hanji replied with a bright smile, a light flashed in Erens' eyes to show that he understood what the other meant.

"I see. Do I get to meet the owner?"

"Of course! You'll have to play for him to get his approval, but I'm sure he'll take you on." Hanji wrapped an arm around Eren's shoulders as they continued towards their destination. It was dark by the time the pair got back to the shop, its windows lit up with the name "Le Salon de Coiffure Classique", what ever that means, in stark relief against it. Petra was still at the counter with her books, though it seems like she'd managed to finish quite a number of things in the time since Hanji left. In a swift motion Hanji opened the door for Eren, causing the girl to look up with a start.

"Zoe! You're back!" Her eyes paused at Eren's rather disheveled appearance. "And who's this?"

"His name's Eren! I thought he'd be good for entertainment, he can play a trumpet like no one's business!"

"Should I get Levi then?"

"No, I will, you fix up Eren; get him presentable." Petra nodded and hopped down from her stool and came around the front of the desk as Hanji winked at the pair of them and left into the back.

"So, Eren," She started, taking off his hat first and dusting it off some. "I'm going to tell you now, Levi isn't the easiest person to get along with. He's got a short vocabulary and an even shorter temper." She straightened the collar on his shirt while she spoke. "He doesn't really talk about his past, but we're all fairly sure that it was something crime related..." She placed his hat back on Eren's head just as the door into the back opened and out strode Hanji followed by the shortest man Eren had ever seen in his short life.

He tried not to act surprised as he was scrutinized head to toe before he spoke. "You play, then." His voice had a strange accent to it, southern maybe? Eren simply nodded, putting his case on top of the desk beside Petra's things, trying to ignore the annoyed "tch" that came from behind him as he opened the case and pulled out his instrument. "Play something then."

"Got any requests?" Eren drummed his fingers against the valves as he wet his lips.

"Oh!" Petra spoke up. "I heard of a song recently, do you know Tin Roof Blues?" Eren nodded and put the trumpet to his lips and started playing.

Really it should be played with about four or five people, but it can be done as a solo, as Eren was demonstrating. A few licks here, an improved octave jump at the climax of the song, and a slur to the bottom register at the end, he couldn't tell how Levi felt about it as he pulled the instrument away from his mouth. Petra, however, was clapping her hands right alongside Hanji. "Well, Levi? I told you the kid could play!"

Levi was silent a moment before speaking up. "I have business to get back to."

"Aw, so you're just letting him go...?"

"Petra, make sure he's clean for tomorrow evening." Levi paused at the open door, glancing back with a look that would scare even a bimbo. "I refuse to have that much dirt in my establishment again." Petra giggled and nodded in agreement as he left, watching Hanji follow him down.

"Congratulations, you've been accepted as the entertainer here!" She smiled to him and took one of his hands in hers. Eren stood there a moment, looking at the door his new boss disappeared behind, wondering what exactly just happened.

Petra smiled at Levi's back as the door closed shut and turned back to Eren and took it upon herself to inform him about things and the way they were run, essentially. Since apparently he was getting taken into the fold he should know how things work. It was much of what Eren had expected; Levi ruled with an iron fist, and his word is law. Hanji was second in command in the hierarchy of this club, and Petra was here as store-watcher and patron-screener while the speakeasy was open. Sometimes strange people would come down, but you learned to not ask too many questions or look for too long.

Eren had more than enough experience doing that, he told her. "Being German, and all." She got quiet for a moment with a look on her face that said she didn't quite know how to respond to that. "It's fine, don't worry about it." Eren continued. "I should be leaving, Mikasa will wonder where I am."

"Mikasa?"

"My sister." That didn't explain much, person with a Japanese sounding name being part of a family with a kid that has a German name? "The actual family aspect is a bit weird, but we might as well be siblings." Eren shrugged, trying to help her understand even as he backed out of the store. He waved goodbye once more, the door swinging shut behind him. The little bell attached to it dinged against the door frame to hang in the air for a moment before dying down.

"What a shame he left so soon." Petra sighed, going back around the counter to her books. "He seemed like a nice kid."

"There weren't a lot of police around this evening." Hanji mentioned as he took up his place behind the bar, giving Levi a break.

"And is that supposed to mean something to me?" He drawled.

"Did he have any plans of coming over tonight?"

"No, he would have mentioned it during his last hair cut." The bastard comes in on a weekly basis to get his hair properly coiffered. On any other person such excessive care would be seen as vain. "They probably left because they knew you would be around and were avoiding your path of destruction."

"But wouldn't that just cause the police more work?" Hanji grinned and leaned on the counter towards him.

"Leaving it to some other unlucky fucks who show up unknowing of the disaster zone they just missed." Levi nodded to the wall behind Hanji, bare for the most part aside from the glasses used to hold the alcohol. That was one of the first things you never do, even in a speakeasy: put the alcohol in plain sight.

"You wanna drink on the job?"

"No, I wanted a cup of tea. I'm smarter than that." He sighed and looked around his establishment again, remembering the kid from before and wondering if he was still hanging around. It would be good to get him down here so they could get him acquainted with where he's going to be playing.

_Assuming he actually shows up._ Levi shut his eyes and let out an internal sigh as Hanji passed him his cup of tea.

"Something on your mind, Levi?"

"Don't even try to play shrink with me, Hanji." He took a drink of his tea, staring at the wall in silence as Hanji made one of the bums in the club room a Mint Julep. Apparently a book had come out in the last few months and it had taken off, which of course meant everyone and their dog had to come to a speakeasy to try to get it unless they wanted to risk preparing it in their own home.

He hadn't read it himself, but Petra had. And according to her it was about the disillusionment of the Jazz Age or whatever. Something to do with Eggs. It sounded like a very strange book.

A few tables down some of the guys had started playing cards, another man seemingly off in his own world and staring at one of the lamps on the wall. Overall it was a quiet night, which was much necessary after the previous nights' rush of people. Someone had started talking about his bar and a few more people than normal decided to show up.

That reminded him; "Hanji, how are we doing so far?" Levi didn't need to specify what he meant. He was understood.

"Doing pretty good, I'll have to open up a new crate if things keep going as they are by the end of the week."

"Try to last that for another week." Levi didn't know when Erd and Gunter would be available again for another run, they had their own lives after all. Erd with his wife and Gunter with his own family.

"Can do, boss." Hanji smiled, grabbing the glass from the man earlier and placing it aside to clean. Levi reached over to grab the money he left with a frown; He didn't pay enough.

"Bums rush for him?" Hanji whispered, watching the guy's back as he left. Levi shook his head once, he was going to tell Petra to watch out for him in the future, so as to not allow him back inside. If you didn't have the money to afford it you shouldn't be drinking in the first place. Not in this world, at least. This world needed money to grease the wheels it ran on, and if you didn't have that money the world was a very cruel place.


	2. Chapter 2

The day for Eren begins very early.

So early that the sun hasn't come out.

He rolls off the blanket he and Mikasa use as a bed and pulls on his thin clothes, pants, shirt, what used to be a jacket and by now hs been turned into a vest, and a pair of shoes.

The fact that he has a pair of shoes to call his own is something the other newsies envy.

Eren kept his trumpet a secret, otherwise it'll get stolen in no time. Mikasa rolled over with a groan, she's always been able to wake up at the drop of a hat regardless of how quiet Eren was being in the mornings, "Eren, you're leaving for the newspapers' place already?"

"Mikasa it's 6, the place opens at 7 and I need to be at my corner no later than 7:30 at the latest." Eren got lucky in his corner of choice, it helped that he was nearly an adult to get preffered treatment. She was silent at that and Eren took that opportunity to pull out the trumpet case he kept nearby in their shabby little room the pair of them called home. "Could you do me a favor later on today?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"I need you to take this to a barber shop that's on the corner of Maria street and Stohess. It has a french name, you can't miss it." He patted the case fondly, thinking about the regular use it's going to get soon. Being a newsie was better than nothing, but not by much.

Mikasa was silent a moment, sitting up on their bed watching him. "This is about last night, isn't it?" Her words brought him back to when he crept in later than usual, Mikasa sitting up waiting for him to come back. He couldn't hide anything from her even if he tried, she'd see right through any poorly constructed lie he tried to tell her, though he did try to play down that what he was doing was technically illegal.

"Yeah."

"...You're sure you want to do this."

Eren paused a moment, wondering if she was trying to warn him about something or if this was just Mikasa being over protective as per the norm. "Yes," He answered after his moment. "I'm sure."

"Alright, I'll take your trumpet there." Eren smiled to her and stood up, grabbing his cap and placing it over his mess of an excuse for hair. By now he was unsure if his hair was always this shade of brown or if it was all the dust, dirt, and other things floating around in the air to make it that color.

"Well I'm off! See you whenever I get back tonight."

"Are you going straight after your job?"

"Yeah, don't wait up for me okay? I don't know how long I'll be there."

"...Eren should I go with you?"

"No, I'll be fine, stop worrying about me. I'm not your little brother Mikasa." Honestly why he had to have this conversation with her every time he tried doing something new was beyond him.

She was quiet, and Eren had just turned away to head out the door when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned partway around to see Mikasa gripping the edge of his shirt, her eyes avoiding his. "Don't take wooden nickles, alright...?"

He was silent as he pulled his sleeve from her grip, of course he wasn't going to do anything stupid, Eren considered himself many things but a fool was not one of them. The city was quiet for this early in the morning, the street lamps had long since burned out and the shops had closed their doors. He was sure even Levi's place had shut down by now. A few other kids joined him as they went to the newspaper distributor, nodding silently along as they trumped their way along the streets, ignored by any would-be muggers, they were newsies, they were lucky to have made a single penny in the course of a day, no one bothered the newsies for change.

Some bothered Eren though, they quickly learned doing so was a bad idea. Mainly because Mikasa was usually somewhere near by watching out and if things got hairy she'd step in.

Eren hated it every single time she did that, he'd be called a piker or a nanny or some other such thing. Until, of course, Mikasa would lay them out.

By the time Eren and the few other kids got to the papers a crowd of kids had already gathered, Eren was still the eldest at 19 years of age. Another job was necessary, he couldn't keep being a newsie for the rest of his life, it grated on his nerves every time he saw the sneer from their boss's face when he came into view. He grabbed his stack of papers, reading the headline and a few of the other minor stories to see which ones he could talk about during his day-long shift.

Another successful raid the other day, an officer got shot, stuff about sports, guests at the White House, nothing major but still decent enough to work with. Eren trotted off with his stack of papers down to his corner, his because he's the oldest and, if he needs to, can easily force the other kids out of his turf. A few people were headed out already to open up their own shops, but it was too soon to actually start yet, they wouldn't be interested. A bit of a crowd first, not much, but more than just people who look like they could use another hour of sleep.

Finally the sun crested over the roofs of the buildings, glinting off the windows on the other side of the street, and Eren got his voice ready. The first people out where the Business folks, the ones off to whatever firm or branch they were apart of and he called out figures from the business section, a few headlines that had to do with the news that happened just the previous night, and by the end of the first "rush" as he called them he had made about 15 cents. A steady trickle of people came even after the rushes, there was always someone around who wanted a newspaper even if they didn't want to read it. Hell sometimes they couldn't even read it but there they were, sitting around looking at the words as if for all the world they meant anything.

The second rush came around noon, for the lunch hour and the late comers just starting the day, the streets were heavy with people and cars choking the air of its oxygen but he yelled over the din anyway. Eren stuck to sports calls about how the Pirates are looking great and might even get into the World Series this year, the officer getting shot went over pretty well; it was always a good day for the newsies when someone got shot, and other such headlines. Another 20 cents to pocket, at this rate he might actually have some money left over for himself and Mikasa.

Speaking of her Eren's mind wandered toward her, remembering how he had asked her to drop off his trumpet and that he hoped she didn't run into trouble or that Levi wasn't giving her a hard time. Maybe that other woman, Petra, was there and had taken care of it.

Eren shook his head to get rid of those thoughts, he didn't have time to waste he still had another thirty papers to sell.

Evening rush came, the last stretch before maybe going into the night to sell the rest of his papers should he need to.

A man came up to Eren, already shouting out other headlines from the other day, the police raid, that bull getting shot, the White House thing, and asked for a paper. Eren thanked him heartily, tipping his hat to the blond man as he was paid his penny for the paper. Eren felt a separate coin in the mix and found a nickel alongside the penny, he looked up to see where the man had gone but he had already disappeared into the streets. Odd enough by itself, he was tall enough he could have stood out nearly anywhere. By the end of the day he had made a solid 50 cents worth of papers and tips and so long as nothing weird happened during the day he'd get to keep at the most two pennies. More than could have been said yesterday, yesterday he just barely managed to break even with the newspaper distribution.

Eren filed back to the building with the other newsies, a few unfortunate saps walked back with papers in hand; they must be new, you never walked back with unsold papers. You chose a new corner, stood outside, and sold until they were gone.

Everyone's got to learn some time. He handed the money he made to the seller and was handed back a penny after all this math was done, a penny was a penny, and for Eren and his prospects it was nothing to sniff at.

But, his day was over, now he just needed to get to that barber shop and do his new night gig and maybe make a bit more money. Having a bit of fluff would definitely not be amiss.

He turned around, heading out from behind the buildings onto the street in the general direction of where he remembered that barber shop being. He remembered how to get there from his usual hangout with his trumpet so it wouldn't be too hard to figure out how to get there from here. Eren paused as he saw a familiar body in front of the newspaper distribution. "Petra?"

The woman turned around at the name, her face slightly confused but broke into a smile when she saw who it was that was calling her. "Eren!" She hurried over and clasped his arm. "There you are!"

"What are you doing here?" How did she even know where to look for him? He didn't say anything about what he did during the day when they last met, they didn't see each other at all today either.

"I came to pick you up for tonight. Levi asked me to, 'Go make sure that brat is spotless' is what he said." Petra nodded sagely, her voice dropping down into an octave that didn't fit in her range as she impersonated him. The look broke and she giggled, voice returning to normal. "So here I am."

"But... How did you know where I was..?" By now a few of the other kids had seen the pair of them and were whistling and shouting encouragements at the pair of them. Eren sighed and pulled Petra away from the gaggle of kids before anything else could be said, but not before one of them managed to shout over "Attaboy, Eren! Finally getting some cash eh?!"

Petra looked shocked at what was said and made a move to head back over to them, the boys whistled some more and scurried off, one shouting behind him "Good luck with your bearcat, Eren!" He sighed and glanced over to Petra who still had a rather scary look in her eye. She stared after them as they ran off, as if daring one of them to try and say anything else. Once they were out of sight the scary look faded and she turned back to smile at him. "Lets go, Eren."

Eren dumbly nodded and followed, allowing her to take the lead as they followed the streets. "So...How did you know where I was?"

"Your sister, Mikasa right?" Eren nodded, remembering what he had asked her to do this morning and thankful that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Stopped by earlier asking if she could leave your trumpet at the shop. That it apparently would be safer there?" She looked at him as if asking just how poorly did they live if it would be safer at an illegal bar than in an actual home, but didn't say anything. "I asked here where you would be tonight so I could prepare you and she told me to wait in front of that place."

Eren was silent as she spoke, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye looking at him with curiosity written on her face. "Is... Is there something on my face?" He finally asked. The look vanished, leaving one that Eren couldn't read in its place.

"Yes, Levi is pretty particular about cleanliness..." She looked off to one side with a more gentle expression and Eren wondered just what they were to each other. "Here." She reached into a handbag that had been strapped over her shoulder for a handkerchief, holding it out to him. "Wipe your face with this, it's got dust and dirt on it, make sure to wipe your hands as well." She paused for a moment, looking at him up and down as they turned a corner. "We really can't do much..." Petra sighed and waited for Eren to finish cleaning his face and hands as best he could.

"Ah, Miss Petra...?" He held the soiled handkerchief with some confusion, he knew he should offer to wash it, but funds being what they were he doubted that he'd manage to be able to afford soap after everything else was bought and the bills were payed.

"Oh, here, give that back, I'll take care of it." Petra showed no signs of exasperation at Eren's hesitation, plucking the piece of fabric out of his hands as they crossed the street together. "We're almost there, now remember, you don't ask questions, you're there to play your instrument." Eren nodded, already having figured as much from everything he's heard about speakeasies from the people on the street not speaking near as easy as they should have been. They turned the final corner to see the shop, Levi sweeping up clippings from the last person who was just leaving, Hanji thanking him for his patronage and taking whatever money was owed.

Hanji noticed them first, opening up the door for them as they approached with a smile. "Welcome back, Petra, Eren!"

"Evening, Zoe." Eren smiled to him, Petra said nothing but nodded in greeting and headed in first. Hanji waited until Eren was inside before letting the door fall shut.

"So what were you up to today?" He asked, his face strangely animated for being the end of the day.

"Busy," Eren confessed, trying to ignore the almost glare he was getting from Levi for daring to trod on his clean floor with dirt and dust and muck from the outside world.

"What do you do all day? Petra wouldn't say anything after your sister dropped off your trumpet. It's safe by the way, hidden away behind the curtain." Hanji smiled and nodded at his own ingenious hiding place.

Eren was conflicted with telling them just what he did, he knew being a newsie was a thing younger kids did to help out tight houses financially, but to be a newsie at his age was unheard of. It was an embarrassment to be a newsie at his age. "Ah..." Might as well be honest, there was no point in lying. "I sold newspapers on a street corner."

"As a..." Petra trailed off, why though? She probably could have guessed that that's what he did since he came from around the back of the building.

"Newsie. I'm a newsie."

"How old are you, again?" Levi spoke up for the first time since he entered.

"I'm nineteen, sir." Eren wasn't really sure why he called Levi sir, but it just fit he supposed.

"And you don't have a real job because...?"

"Well, sir, I go to the owners looking for help, I tell them my name, and they proceed to kick me out the door." That's happened often enough that Eren has really just stopped looking, why bother since he's got such a German name.

"What's your name, then?" Right, Hanji knew but the others didn't.

"Eren. Eren Jaeger." He knew they understood what that meant when Petra looked a bit shocked and Levi fell silent again. The only person who didn't seem surprised was Hanji.

"Well then, Eren Jaeger." Levi spoke again, breaking the silence. "Congratulations on your first real job. If you can call it that. Now go downstairs and get ready, we're opening soon. Hanji, show him." Hanji nodded and pulled Eren along into the back and behind the secret door before anything else could be said. Once downstairs Hanji let go of Eren's wrist to go behind the bar and pick up the trumpet case, leaving him to look around at what will be his place of operation for the foreseeable future. The few tables around the room had the chairs flipped over on top of them, the lights were dim from the sides of the room, and the bar seemed to have only a small selection of alcohol.

"I always thought speakeasies were bigger..." Eren muttered as he gazed at the rather tiny room, comparing it to the rather grandiose version he'd imagined it to look like.

"So did I, but according to Levi that whole 'huge underground speakeasies with a full band and excellent bar' thing is a gang myth." Hanji nodded, understanding what Eren had meant.

"Gang myth...?" What did Levi know about gangs?

"Yeah, here you are, Eren." Hanji smiled and turned over the case to him, which he gladly took, happy for a chance to get away from the conversation. Eren hadn't realized how anxious he'd been feeling about his trumpet being some place new until he actually held the familiar case and felt the weight in his arms again. He went back to the stage, sitting on the edge of the two-foot wide space and opened his case, the yellow metal of the trumpet gleaming out at him in a surprising amount of cleanliness, did Levi clean his instrument?

Probably, he probably didn't want something so dirty being shown in his joint. Well whatever, Eren picked it up, drumming the tabs with his fingers as he ran his tongue over his lips and put the mouth piece to them. He blew through it softly, getting his lungs back into the habit of his breathing technique. After a few moments of breathing he played a song Mikasa often enjoyed to hear. It didn't have a title, since he had made it up on the spot and even now it was still ad libbed or embellished in some way. But it had a more gentle sound than the usual dance songs played at clubs and was more than ideal as a warm up.

Hanji cooed from behind the bar. "Oh, Eren, you've got to play that when Levi's here." He smiled to him, even as the tempo sped up a bit and Eren went into a higher octave. He finished early, stopping at what would be about halfway through the piece, he couldn't have himself wearing out so soon, he had the whole night to play.

Eren was silent a moment before looking to Hanji. "How many people usually show up?"

"Oh maybe about twenty people in a night, sometimes thirty if someone started talking about us." He shrugged at the numbers. "But with you here now," A grin was forming on his mouth. "That number's sure to go up." The side wall opened and Levi entered, eyes never leaving Hanji's face as he strode over and behind the bar.

"Well, guess that's my cue to get everything ready!" Hanji slide out and went around the room, putting the chairs back upright on the floor, catching a damp rag Levi had prepared and tossed his way to quickly wipe down the tables. Obviously they have done this for quite a while

"Eren." Levi directed his gaze towards the young man. "Nothing too loud. I don't want any more attention drawn to this place than necessary."

Eren nodded his understanding, he had already thought that this place was far more mellow than the streets and so he would change his usual lineup of songs to mainly have a more calm feel to them. No one was here, but that's alright, he was more interested in actually playing his instrument anyway. Money helped keep his interest, but it wasn't the sole reason he played.

The tune he played was as smooth as he could make it, not grating on the ears, not some high pitched ditty, but a mixture of notes that had no real placement but still sounded good together. He jumped up an octave and felt himself get more into what he was doing, the song gaining more of a rhythm and beat to it as he sped up a little, the calmness leaving as a more jazz influenced tone came out. He finished on a major key, not really liking minors all that much, and only when he had to open his eyes did Eren realize that they'd closed as he was playing. Levi was watching him but quickly turned back to the glass in his hands as Eren put his trumpet down for a moment. A person had come in while he'd been playing as well, and was blatantly watching him.

Eren grinned to the man and put the trumpet to his mouth once more and began to play something with a bit more bounce to it, more staccato than legato and even managed to get the guy to crack a smile. He continued to play even as the man left, nodding his thanks as the man approached and dropped a few pennies into his open case. Eren stopped a few moments after the man left and glanced to the pieces of copper resting within the worn fabric of his case with some ounce of pride. Maybe he'd be able to keep those. He turned his gaze up to meet Levi's with a smile and was returned with a simple look before reaching under to produce a bottle of brown liquid.

"Don't get your hopes up, kid. Levi doesn't give alcohol away." Hanji said from the side of the stage, startling Eren with his sudden appearance. "Besides, that's tea. I don't think I've ever seen him drink the giggle water he sells." Hanji winked to him, cringing slightly as Levi spoke up.

"You know I can hear everything you say, Cheaters." He said, not looking up as he poured out some of the tea into a cup, clasping it... Oddly, to say the least, and bringing it to his lips to sip from.

"I know..." He laughed, looking back to Eren. "Are you going to play that thing you played earlier? That pretty piece?" Eren blinked a moment before remembering the exchange he had with Hanji before Levi had arrived.

Another person pushed their way inside the speakeasy, heading straight for the bar and successfully distracting Levi long enough that Eren could raise the instrument and begin his piece without feeling judged. The man sat down as Eren continued to play, gazing into his drink as he let the music wash over him. He drained his glass in one sitting, banging it on the table and ordering another.

He hadn't meant to stay longer than one drink.

He placed the money on the counter and looked over to the youth, still playing that trumpet as though it was the final hours of his life and he had come to terms with its end, and approached. Nothing was said that needed saying, Eren had his eyes shut and was gently rocking in time with how his music flowed through the body and didn't notice the man drop a dollar into the case. By the time Eren finished he had left and another pair had shown up, sitting at one of the tables playing cards, the drinks they ordered sat near their elbows. He took a breath and flicked his eyes over to Levi's once more, hoping to get more of a reaction this time, and locked eyes with him. He'd been watching too. Eren was the first to break eye contact, getting distracted by Hanji approaching with a glass of water.

"Here, for your throat. Can't have our trumpeter dying on us of dehydration, can we?"

"Thank you," Eren muttered, only now realizing just how dry his throat had become after all day shouting and then spending the last... however long he'd been down here playing.

The night continued in such a manner; Eren playing his trumpet, people showing up, playing card games, chatting, leaving tips, although sometimes they didn't, getting his glass of water refilled every few hours, sometimes meeting Levi's eyes. Each time they held an expression that Eren didn't understand. Until finally Levi kicked out the last person and approached Eren.

"You're done for the night, go home." He turned to help Hanji clean up from the night.

Eren reached down into the case to pull out the change and few bills he had and held them out to Levi just before he fully turned around. "My tips for the night."

"...Yes, they are." Levi turned to face him again, still not taking the money. "They're your tips."

Eren tilted his head to the left in confusion. "So here. You get the tips, right?"

Levi closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a sigh. "Do I even want to understand what you're saying? They are your tips." He opened his eyes again. "Yours. You earned them, you keep them. I'm starting to wonder if it was only your name that prevents you from finding a job." Eren glowered at the insinuation but clenched the money tighter in his hand.

The money was his? He clutched just over four dollars in his hand and it was his? Eren rarely had this much money even during what he had considered to be a successful day on the streets. "Thank you, Levi..." His expression cleared and he put a smile on his face for him even as Levi shook his head and turned back to the tables, noting that Hanji had already gone through and did clean up on them. "It's nothing. Don't you get to keep your tips as a newsie?"

"No, we buy the newspapers on credit and whatever we make selling the papers and make as tips go to the boss. He does some math that decides our wages against the cost of the newspapers and interest, most often we break even." He grinned at the memory of today though, the sight of that fat man's face as he saw that Eren had made a profit. "But today I managed to make enough to get some of it back."

"Really now?" Levi looked at him more fully, seemingly curious about his life. "How much?"

"A penny." Eren looked far more happy at that than nearly anyone else had they been in his shoes. Levi was silent, wearing another expression he couldn't read before turning away.

"I see. You can go now, go ahead and leave your trumpet, I'll make sure it stays safe." Eren thanked him once more before pocketing his money and heading out the secret door. "One more thing." he paused halfway through the panel. "Employees of mine get payed every week on Saturday, remind me to get you your cut then."

Eren couldn't believe it, he got to keep the tips and he got payed on top of it? He didn't know what to say in gratitude, opting for an affirmation that he understood instead. He let the door fall shut behind him, tromping up the stairs and waving goodbye to Petra as he left to show Mikasa their new riches.

"He grows on you, doesn't he?" Hanji said from behind the bar, gazing at the back of Levi's head. "Did his playing enchant you?" He didn't expect an answer and was satisfied that he received none, just a simple look from Levi that spoke more volumes than words ever could. "I see..." He sighed with a smile. "I look forward to seeing what becomes of him, he's got great talent. Just a shame he was born German."

"He'll be fine." Levi finally said.

"You sure?"

"...Call it intuition." Hanji sighed, knowing he would get nothing out of his friend to clarify his meaning. Still, if Levi said the kid would be okay in this world, then Hanji could do nothing but believe in his words.


	3. Chapter 3

Mikasa had already fallen asleep by the time Eren returned to their home, though from the way she was sitting up at her usual chair indicated that she had attempted to wait up for him. Eren should have told her to go to sleep, that he would have been home late. Instead of waking her he tried his best to help her into their bed, crawling in beside her after taking off his shoes and putting his cap on the table. Mikasa instinctively curled up against Eren even as he settled down, the slightest of smiles pulling up at the corner of her lips as she fell deeper into sleep, her brother following her soon after.

He didn't get a lot of sleep, a newsie's day begins bright and early, although after last night Eren was wondering if he should even bother showing up anymore if last nights tips were anything to go by. Not to mention a weekly salary as well, Eren felt as though he was downright rolling in dough. It would occupy his days though, he would only buy one stack this time and head over to Levi's after paying the distribution back for the papers to clean up his instrument. He had neglected to do that in his excitement to get home with his few dollars in earnings, and he could just imagine how the spit was drying in his case. It would make a terrible sound until he got that out.

Mikasa did not wake this time, she must have been exhausted from yesterday to sleep through Eren getting ready in the morning. He took a moment to write out a note for her, telling her that he got home fine and went to do sell his newspapers and that he was going over to Levi's later on that day. Also that he was leaving behind the tips he made from his other job so she could go grocery shopping so maybe they'd be able to have some sort of proper dinner. Eren left the note and money on their table and left as quietly as he could, joining the rest of the kids filing in line to begin their day.

The man glared at Eren as he read off what he'd be selling and tossed him a single package of newspapers. He ignored the glances he was getting from the other kids, probably all wondering if he was finally getting out of this and remembering his prime corner.

Eren just knew there would be so many scuffs between those kids thinking they were hard boiled for that corner, it was enough to bring a smile to his face as he glanced over the headlines out of habit. He didn't really care about selling the papers, he mainly wanted to get this over with so he could go to Levi's barber shop. He could not tell if the excitement he felt was out of that sense of rebellion from doing an illegal act or something else causing it but he was never one to look very deeply into these sort of things.

He sold out of his newspapers by the end of the lunch rush, impressed with himself and how quickly he managed to get that done and headed back to the distro. If he got back home quick enough maybe he could catch Mikasa before she went to do her afternoon gig at the laundry place and grab a quick bite of lunch. It smarted sometimes that she could get an actual job but he couldn't, then he would remember that her last name is Ackerman. Being half American, even if the other half is Japanese, is better than being full German in this day and age. Eren let out a sigh as he rounded the corner to the Main street, hurrying down it while blending in as best he could with the already dwindling crowds, keeping to the outside of the side walk. Some habits died hard, and basic courtesies instilled in him by his mother were all of them.

Eren took an alleyway off the main road and around the backs of several buildings before emerging on the other sidewalk and jogging across the street to the other side, going down a second alleyway. He followed it for a while, weaving through the backs of buildings before finally appearing across the street from the back of his distribution. After finally managing to get the guy in charge to come down and take Eren's earnings, he broke even again but that is never much of a surprise, he went around front and set off in the direction of home.

It was just after one by the time he hiked his way back to the slums where he lived, his door locked by a pretty shoddy lock that they had only managed to afford after skipping meals for a few days and Mikasa taking on more hours at her job. She was already gone, the note he left earlier gone as was the money. Eren looked through the house a bit more and for once there was food, seems she did manage to get some grocery shopping done before she had to leave. He cobbled together a small sandwich of bread and cheese as he left to go to the shop; no point in sticking around at the house if he was just going to go there tonight. He would be able to clean out his instrument in peace, hopefully.

Knowing Levi cleaning his spit valve was going to disgust him so he would be better off doing it outside to begin with.

Newsies glanced his way as he walked past them, the glint in their eyes showing that they knew his corner might be unmanned, that they might have a chance at getting the cream of the crop. He neared the barber shop, Le Salon de Coiffure Classique, Eren still had no idea why it was named that, and noticed Levi and Petra waving to Hanji and a few of the customers inside sitting along the bench as Hanji cut away at a man's hair. He jogged over to the pair of them, getting their attention with a shout.

Petra turned to face Eren, a smile on her face, and he noticed their arms were intertwined. "Eren! We weren't expecting you so soon."

"Weren't you being a newsie on some corner?"

"Ah..." Eren hesitated, he was not sure why but he felt some level of melancholic emotion he couldn't name, but continued on. "I did, I only took one stack this time so I finished early."

"What a diligent worker bee, it's nowhere near time to open up." Petra jerked a bit on Levi's arm with a stern look, it brightening into a smile.

"How would you care to come with us? We were just stepping out for lunch!"

"Bit late for a lunch, isn't it?" Eren tilted his head, it was closer to two in the afternoon now, most people would have stopped bothering for lunch by now opting instead to wait for dinner.

"Yes, but we had a customer come in and he was very important, so Levi really didn't have much of a choice in waiting this long." Petra nodded, the serious look coming back to her features.

"Important...?"

"Yes," Levi continued for her. "And he'll probably be back later. He forgot something at the store."

Eren couldn't tell if they were implying that this customer would come by the speakeasy or if he had actually forgotten something in the shop. "Ah... You were going to lunch?" He tried to get the conversation back on grounds he was far more comfortable with, thankfully Petra followed along.

"Yes, maybe to a café for a sandwich. What do you think, Levi?" She clasped his arm a bit closer to hers, causing that nameless emotion to well up within Eren again.

"Sure. Just be careful not to get crumbs on your dress." Petra smiled and looked back to Eren.

"Will you want to come along? Levi would happily pay for us." She patted his shoulder and Eren glanced to him, not really knowing what to expect but slightly relieved that all he got was a simple stare.

"I don't know, I kind of wanted to clean out my instrument, I didn't get a chance to, before." He shrugged, trying to pull off nonchalance but felt as though he just made himself more awkward.

"Don't get my floors dirty." Levi only had that to say before he walked with Petra down the street. Eren watched them for a moment, lingering outside the shop before heading inside. He held the door open for a customer leaving as Hanji leaned over the counter by a register and waved to him.

"Saw you chatting with Levi and Petra, Eren. What brings you here so early?" Eren glanced around, noting the rest of the customers sitting and chatting about something in the newspaper one had bought from the newsie outside, a second getting up to take the place of the man who just left.

"I finished early and wanted to clean my trumpet." A small voice in his head told him that he might be able to make a little more money by playing in here, but the thought of Levi coming back to whatever resulted from this was enough to dampen the mood. Hanji was silent, distracted by discussing what the man in the seat wanted to have done. He pressed on something under the chair and guided it and the man down into a laying position. His hands danced with the pair of scissors and razor over the man's head. Small tufts of white hair fell to the ground as Hanji cut off about an inches worth of hair before sitting him up with a smile.

"A shave too, right?" The man nodded and Hanji went around to the mirror to grab up a small pot and brush, running a bit of water onto the small round cake of soap and rapidly running the brush over it to work up a lather.

"Don't they have those canned shaving creams nowadays?" Eren asked, watching the scene before him with some level of curiosity. He'd never been able to afford even a haircut at a barbers, much less a shave. Besides whenever he needed a haircut he would simply hand a pair of scissors to Mikasa. Shaving had yet to become much of an issue, even at his age.

"They do," Hanji answered, wiping the soap over the man's cheeks and chin. "However Levi prefers the traditional method to that." The smile he wore said that he had brought up this idea before and it had been shot down, probably.

"Whatever the boss says goes, right?"

"You got it, Eren." Hanji went back to the counter and put down the pot and rested the brush over it, picking up a simple looking razor, washed it off, and went back to the man to begin shaving him.

"I thought barbers used straight razors though?" The image Eren had conjured up was of an elderly man, taking his single bladed razor and running it along that strip of leather he would always see in the shops he knew of. Each swipe was long and purposeful, each stroke along the man's cheek slow, careful, and fully controlled. He hadn't really expected a type of razor he would occasionally see in the super markets to be in a professional Barber shop.

"Only the professionals do, I'm not yet a professional up to Levi's standard so I just use..." He trailed off, watching his stroke along the curve of the man's cheek. "A safety razor."

"But Levi uses a straight razor?"

"Yup. He's quite good at it too, if I didn't know any better I'd say he used to use those to slit the necks of his enemies!" Hanji laughed at her own joke, the men waiting for their turn chuckled at the idea of a man that short being any sort of a challenge, but it sent a small chill down Eren's spine. His mind's eye pictured a Levi, hands holding a pair of straight razors that looked to have been dipped in blood, standing above a pile of bodies, each with their necks slit wide open. The look in his eye was something he couldn't place and for some unknown reason it thrilled him a little.

Eren fell silent, preferring to watch Hanji work. The man finished his shave, Hanji rubbed a bit of aftershave over his face, money was exchanged and the next person sat down while he swept away the hair clippings from the last customer. "Eren you don't have to stick around, what did you come here for, again?"

"Ah right, I wanted to clean out my trumpet!" He jumped down from the counter he'd slid onto during the silence.

"Go ahead and get it, it's in the closet on the third shelf to your right." It got moved? Well so long as it was in one piece, he supposed. Eren nodded his thanks, allowing Hanji to get back to his job as he went into the side closet and right where Hanji had pointed out was his familiar well worn case. He picked it up and brought it outside, placing it back down onto the counter as the men along the front glanced over, now interested.

"Gettin' some entertainment for us, Zoe?" One of the men laughed out.

"'Bout time too," Another joined in. "These guys are terrible at talking." He laughed while the others played around at being offended. Eren chuckled as he pulled out the handkerchief he keeps around for this, blowing air through the spit valve to get what he could out before pulling off the tuning valve and tamping it against the handkerchief.

"You better not be doing that on my counters." A familiar voice said as the door opened. Eren looked up from his trumpet to see Levi holding open the door for Petra who in turn ignored the snide looks she was getting from the other patrons in the store.

"No, I have a handkerchief I use for this!" He placed the bit of metal in his case on top of the trumpet and waved the piece of fabric up so Levi could see in an effort to keep the atmosphere as light as it was when it was just him and Hanji.

"Don't flail that thing around it's disgusting." Eren had already looked back down to his trumpet, wadding up the hanky and putting it away, scooting the valve back to where it was before. He blew a soft low note through the horn, pleased to hear it make such a clear sound even when he wasn't pushing much air through it. He smiled to Petra against the mouthpiece to his horn as she took her place behind the counter with him at the cash register.

"If that's all you wanted to do you can leave now."

"Levi," Petra started. "Remember what we talked about at the café?" Levi simply blinked at her, apparently uncomprehending what she meant. "You wanted to give Eren a hair cut?"

"Wait, what?" Eren put his horn down and looked between Petra and Levi. He had no money on him, he supposed if they accepted credit he might be able to swing something after the night was over and he had some tips however.

"I'm going to wash your hair and give you a proper hair cut. Yours looks like it lost a fight with a pair of dull scissors." Levi didn't wait for an answer, going back into the closet and emerging after a moment in a white apron tied around his side. Immediately Eren's mind went to his sister chopping off locks of his hair with the old scissors he managed to keep from the old days with his parents.

"I don't have any money though, I wouldn't be able to pay for it-"

"Don't worry about it, Eren." Petra interrupted. "This one's on the house." She smiled to him and that eased some of Eren's worries a little bit.

"Wasn't he gonna play though?" One of the men spoke up, looking to Hanji now that he was free again.

"He is, don't worry." Levi said as he rolled up the sleeves to his shirt. "His hair cut is going to be after hours." He gestured to the next man waiting and patted the seat in front of him. "Eren, get playing." Eren quickly got out his trumpet and made sure it was put back together properly before blowing a few notes as a warm up. Petra looked on with interest, as did the men in the chairs as Eren dove into Tin Roof Blues which made Petra smile broadly.

The song was not meant to be played by one person and a single day had not changed that fact, but Eren made up for what he could, dragging it out and adding licks of his own and rhythms onto the end to keep the basic mood going through a few more people entering because of him and the men Hanji and Levi had been working on to finish, pay, and leave. He finished about a half hour after he started, returning to the world accompanied by the small claps from the new patrons seated and waiting for their turn. He was breathing a bit harder when he lowered his instrument and noting with some shock that he'd made a few more tips while he'd been playing unbeknownst to him. Not much, just a few pennies and a nickle but money was money and for him anything mattered no matter how small.

"Good job, Eren, I didn't know you could freeform like that!" Petra smiled to him, leaning her chin on one hand while her elbow rested on the counter.

"You pick it up as you go along, I was mostly playing off Tin Roof Blue's basic sound so it wasn't that hard..." He muttered, unused to having praise come his way.

"Well it's still good!" Hanji called over, combing out a womans hair to cut into a bob. A few of the men were watching with that same snide look on their face that the old men had when they saw Petra as well.

"Ah, Petra?" Eren muttered, leaning over next to her. "Why do those men look so angry at the woman over with Hanji?"

"Oh that, most men see women getting bob cuts as them disgracing themselves. I don't see why, it's just hair." Petra shrugged and returned to her seat, leaving Eren wondering why that woman earned such looks of disgust when all she was doing was getting her hair cut short. Mikasa had short hair as well, but that didn't mean that she deserved or received these looks. The confusion on his face must have been obvious, for Petra leaned back over and tried to explain it once more. "They think it's not proper for a woman to have short hair like a man, I remember reading that a mother now has trouble telling her sons and daughters apart because of the bob cut."

"If you can't tell your own children apart why did you have them in the first place...?" Eren said the first thing that came to mind aloud and brought a few giggles from Petra.

"I know, but that's what goes through their minds." Eren remembered once more the looks Petra received and blinked in more confusion.

"But what about earlier...?" Petra shook her head, not wanting to talk about it and Eren wanted to push on, and he was about to when he caught a glance from Levi holding a straight razor in his hand.

The image from before with the razors dipped in blood and Levi surrounded by a pile of bodies turned into one corpse that looked a lot like Eren.

Eren shut his mouth and put his trumpet back in his case, grabbing up the money that had been tossed in from the previous customers and pocketing it. The rest of the evening was spent sitting behind the counter with Petra, chatting to the patrons as they paid and left, soon the few people that had come in had gotten their hair cut and left, leaving Petra and the rest behind to close up shop.

"Hanji, you get downstairs ready, we open in a few hours. Petra, start cleaning up here." Levi delegated tasks like a drill commander, both people standing smartly and went about their chores, Eren sat there awkwardly, wondering if he was going to be remembered. "Eren, here." Levi patted the chair once more, going to the washing basin below the mirror to get his shampoos ready.

Eren slid down from the stool and hurried over, not wanting to find out what happens if you make Levi wait and sat in the chair. He felt his hat get snapped off and quickly turned his head to see Levi place it on the counter. "I can't very well wash your hair if you have a hat on." Levi's eyes flicked up to his messy mop of brown hair and grimaced. "Have you ever even bathed before...?"

"Yes I have!" Eren blurted out.

"You did a piss poor job, brat." Levi grabbed a cover and placed it over Eren's front, tying it gently behind his neck, and clicking something under the chair to make it lie back until Eren was staring up at Levi with a nervous expression. He felt hot water turn on and cascade over his head and oh wow.

Eren had no idea getting your hair washed could feel so good. Why hasn't he done this more often this feels amazing. Levi's fingers in his hair were gripping him solid and working through to get his head thoroughly wet, he felt the hands pause and realized somewhat belatedly that his eyes had closed and he thought that maybe he should open them when he felt Levi's fingers in his hair again, working something into this hair and those fingers feeling like they're massaging his scalp was something Eren had no idea would have felt this amazing. His head was twisted from side to side as Levi washed his hair free of the dirt and grime of the outside world, in the back of his mind he could swear he heard Levi say something about how he'd never taken a bath before to Petra before pulling his fingers out of his hair and rinsing him off and sitting him up.

"Wake up sleeping beauty." Levi said right in his ear. The sudden noise was enough to startle Eren awake from what was soon to be a doze to see his reflection in the mirror beside Levi. "That took so fucking long I almost cramped." he muttered, grabbing up a pair of scissors and hooking them on to a finger as he looked at his hair. "Anything special you want for it, otherwise I'm just going to even it out."

"No, no that sounds fine." Eren was not going to say that he wanted Levi to massage his scalp no that'd be way weird besides, he's sure Levi and Petra are a thing anyway. And even if he didn't respect Levi he did respect Petra enough not to try anything there. Levi nodded and began cutting. Eren watched him work, the way his hands gripped the comb to grab a piece of hair and snip, the way his eyebrows knotted together a bit to show his concentration, the skill he held in the command of his scissors, the look in his eyes when he had to stop and make sure everything was even. Soon what was once a very choppy badly cut mop of hair had been turned into a not so choppy and better cut mop of hair.

"I couldn't do much. Whoever was cutting your hair before had done a number on it." Levi shook his head and stepped forward to take the cover off Eren, shaking it out and laying it back with the others. He grabbed a small brush and began to brush Eren's shoulders to get the excess hairs off and he just finished when Hanji came back upstairs.

"We're ready down there!"

"Took you fucking long enough." Levi said, taking off the apron and tying it over a hook behind the counter.

"Sorry," Hanji grinned, clearly not sorry at all. "I didn't want to disturb you, I know how you get with your job." He went back down into the speakeasy, leaving Eren with Levi and Petra on the store floor. Eren grabbed his trumpet case, snapping it closed and headed down when a harsh word stopped him.

"So did you never learn manners, brat?"

"What now?"

"Did you never. Learn manners." Levi repeated, slower this time with a look in his eye that warned against making him repeat himself again.

"Ah... I did learn manners, my mom taught me."

"She must have done a shitty job if you can't remember to thank someone who cut your hair for you for free."

Eren was silent, Levi had a point, he did forget to thank him. On the other hand no one talked about his mother that way. Ever. He should really just apologize. Apologize and say thank you, that's all he should say. "Sir, with all due respect," He watched Levi's eyebrow raise in expectancy. "Thank you for cutting my hair for me, I'm grateful for that 'cause money's pretty tight for me. But never talk about my mom that way again."

"Remember what she taught you and I won't have to question her methods." Came Levi's cool reply. He got closer to Eren and he prepared himself for a smack that was sure to come and was shocked when he didn't feel skin connect. He watched Levi walk past him and down into the backroom for the speakeasy and let out a shaky breath. He glanced back to Petra with a smile that conveyed some sort of message, Eren was sure of it, and followed Levi down the stairs for another night of hooch, gambling, and moral debauchery.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Eren finally made it downstairs Levi had already situated himself behind the bar, the pair of them met eyes for a moment before Eren looked away to head to the stage to set up. Levi's eyes continued to follow him, watched the way his body moved and his muscles worked.

In an instant he knew how this kid would fight if provoked; what kind of strategies, if any, he'd use; and just how little he's actually had to fight over the years.

Even growing up with some level of discrimination he was never really accosted by how he carried himself, he didn't show the signs of distrust when dealing with new people, it made Levi wonder just how he'd gotten by in the world being as poor as he is and German on top of it.

At least he wasn't black, then life would have really been shitting on his face.

Levi watched him a moment longer, noticing the way his fingers drummed the valves with practiced ease and the way eren would lick his lips to prepare to warm up, and looked back to his own station, the alcohol lining the underside of the bar, the glasses behind him, and the trap door beneath his feet that led even deeper into a tunnel and out into a quiet back alley parking lot.

He squatted down, rummaging through the bottles and doing a mental head count; Zoe had said that there was another crate down below for when this ran dry in about a week and for that he was grateful. The less often Erd and Gunter had to refresh their stock the longer they could keep free of the of the police. This shit was already as watered down as Levi could make it without getting bozos coming to him with their beef about the horse piss they're drinking, it'll last long enough.

With a graceful ease that hid his age he rose back up in time to see a man enter, not the one he was expecting from before, but dough's dough. Levi gave him his dog hair and watched him leave, pausing to let in another man who actually took a seat and ordered a gin and tonic; Classic drink, not much hassle, Levi took down the proper glass filled it with ice cubes and reached below for the gin and tonic water bottles, pouring them into the glass at the same time, lifting the gin first and finishing it off with the tonic. He gave it a little swirl to get the drinks mixed instead of them oozing together and passed it down to the man.

By now Eren had warmed up enough to play some smooth piece that Levi hadn't heard before, more likely than not he was making it up as he went. The kid's got nothing on the jazz he's heard in his day, but not much can compare to the jazz from the bible belt. Several hours passed like this: the kid played his horn, customers rolled in- some of whom had gotten their hair freshly cut by him that very day-, several stayed for more than one drink, and left. Hanji finding that kid was a godsend for their pocketbooks and Levi could only hope that it payed out in the long run; He plans to milk this for as long as he can.

Eren had just finished a medley of something that sounded like it belonged on a piano and been given a glass of water when the door swung open to reveal the man of the hour. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eren look over out of mild curiosity and nearly choke when he realized who it was.

"Erwin."

"Levi." Came his smooth reply. His face was as unreadable as ever and his hair as perfect as Levi remembered making it that afternoon.

"A pleasant surprise, you scared the entertainment." Levi jerked his head to Eren who had somehow managed to not cough up his lungs.

"Have I?" He looked over with that smile of his and Eren managed to smile back with a wave, though his attention was soon stolen by Hanji. "He looks familiar."

"He's a newsie, you might have seen him on the streets." Levi nodded in acknowledgement to another man who had taken a dislike, to say the least, to the newest customer, and grabbed the glass he left behind to begin cleaning it.

Erwin hmmd, still looking at Eren with eyes that shared none of his thoughts.

"So what'd you come here for?" Levi hated beating around bushes, and that was Erwin's specialty.

"Whiskey, old-fashioned, blend bourbon with Glenlivet." Erwin looked away from Eren and Hanji, turning his attention to Levi and taking a seat at the bar. He placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands in a way that, on any one else, would make Levi slap their arms out from under them, and smiled.

Levi remained quiet, pulling a glass from behind him along with the actual makings for the drink. He didn't know why Erwin cared so much for this drink, the man preferred scotch and combining the bourbon with it is something that strikes a very odd cord within him; Hanji would say that Erwin just likes teasing Levi with drinks that required other things besides simple alcohol. He dropped in the sugar cube and poured in the bitters, topped it off with the combination of bourbon and scotch, using more of the bourbon than scotch since that is the only way Erwin likes it, a quick stir and a few ice cubes and Levi slid the drink the short way down to where Erwin was seated. "No lime wedge?" Erwin asked as his hand caught the glass, waiting a moment to give the flavors some time to mingle, and took a sip.

"Yeah, I think there's a grocers' down the street if you want one that badly. Dunno if they'll still be open."

Erwin chuckled through his sip and Levi's attention returned to the surrounding empty space. Somewhere in the preparation of this drink Eren had started playing again, something soft and slow this time. Levi wondered why that particular music choice.

"Good as ever, Levi." Erwin smiled to him again nodding to Hanji sliding in behind the counter.

"I'll take over, you go flap your gums." Before he could blink Hanji plucked the glass and rag from Levi's hands, ushering him out from behind the counter with a grin. Levi sighed inwardly and sat next to Erwin.

They remained in silence for a while, interrupted only when someone would enter and ask for a drink, most only stayed for one even with Eren playing. Erwin's presence always thinned out crowds. Most members of police do that, especially in an illegal bar. Eren finished his bar and took another drink, Levi took this opportunity to wave him over. Erwin was going to ask about him anyway, might as well get it over with.

The man glanced over to Levi with a glint in his eyes that he could only guess meant "How did you know I was going mention him?" and flicked back to his drink. Eren hastily put his horn down, grabbed up his glass of water, and made his way over to them. He stood to Erwin's side, sipping from his glass and glancing to Levi hoping for cues. Levi nodded to Hanji who started to prepare something before looking back to him. "Eren, this is Erwin Smith. Head of the police division dealing in raids." He watched Eren's eyes grow wide as he slowly lowered his drink.

Erwin chuckled, eyes never having left his up "'Dealing in raids' Levi you make my job sound illegal."

"What you're doing now is illegal." He accepted the mug Hanji offered to him and took a sip, wondering just for how long Eren was going to stay quiet.

"Ah, Sir...?" There was the voice he was waiting for. "Why are you in a speakeasy...? Isn't it your job to find places like this and arrest those involved?"

Erwin nodded, Levi knew he didn't like to discuss work while he was here but Eren didn't know and there was no way that he was going to fault him for that or make this a scene. Not that anybody was here, word travels fast when one of the chiefs is in a bar. "It is my job to find and confiscate or destroy contraband such as this." He held up his glass, almost empty, to show Eren. "However I've found that a little of the, giggle water as many like to put it, goes a long way to keep the general peace." Erwin turned that smile to Eren who attempted to smile back, but looked more puzzled than anything else. Apparently all that answer did was give more questions than answers.

"You're dismissed, Eren, go back to your post." Levi uttered, eyes on his mug of tea and the swirling brown liquid inside. He heard a shuffling that sounded like Eren wanting to say something, a quiet moment, and then foot steps leading away. A metallic clank and a few seconds of silence before the music started back up.

"He seems like a nice kid." Erwin muttered, watching Hanji make his second drink.

"Hanji don't let him have a third we don't need him going back to his office spifflicated."

"Levi I'm hurt you think I would be drunk after three drinks." Levi was silent, Hanji nodded consent to his words and passed down Erwin's drink once it was finished. The pair fell into silence again, allowing Eren's trumpet to fill the room with its sound. "Eren plays well."

"Of course, I wouldn't take on someone who didn't."

"I hadn't realized you'd been looking for entertainment, does this mean you're thinking of expanding?" Erwin glanced over with a look in his eye Levi hadn't seen in a long time.

"No, I don't need more attention." Erwin hmmd at that, which led Levi down some paths of thought he hadn't traversed since his misspent youth. Which gang was trying to rise to power now? In this area the Pennsylvanian mafia held control and really only used small time gangs as hit men and soldier fodder when they want to expand their territory.

"A new gang is forming up here." Levi waited to see how this concerned him. "Apparently they've come quite a ways." The tone was informative, as if Levi had asked him how the weather was going to be tomorrow.

"A ways?" Erwin nodded, draining the last of his drink. "Thought you'd want to know. Let your boys know about it as well, don't want them getting hurt, now do we?" Again with that smile. Levi raised a hand in goodbye as Erwin rose and placed a few bills on the counter and went over to watch Eren for a moment, putting a few bills in his case as tip, before leaving.  
The speakeasy remained silent save for Eren's playing, when the kid got going it was hard to stop him apparently, but when he finally did stop he glanced around. He had a puzzled look on his painfully honest face that wondered where Erwin went, he looked to his case and noticed the extra bills with a surprised look, and then shocked when he saw that Erwin had dropped about five dollars in tip.

Levi let out a light sigh and looked to Hanji. "Watch over for me a while." He turned around and stood, not waiting for an affirmative he knew he was going to get, and went over to Eren's stage. "Kid, come on."

"Where are we going?"

"I need a ciggy." Levi's easy reply came and it appeared to have surprised Eren, who seemingly didn't expect that to be the answer.

"Alright… Then?" The statement came as a question and Levi ignored it, turning around and heading towards the bar. He grabbed the carton of cigarettes and matchbook Hanji put out, turned behind the counter and opened up the secret door, much to Eren's curiosity and jumped down into it. Hanji laughed above them as Eren followed suit, landing harder than Levi had and winced as he straightened up.

"Remember, Levi!" Came the shout. "Bank's closed on this one!" Levi didn't answer, waving to Eren to get a move on.

"Sir where are we?"

"Under the shop and streets, this is where I keep the alcohol that gets run here." Eren was silent, undoubtedly looking around at everything, even the sparse contents of the small room. "Come on, don't make me tell you twice." Levi stopped a few steps ahead of him when he realized Eren wasn't following. He let out a surprised sound and sped up, easily keeping up with him after that.

He opened up a door into a tunnel and took the lead in showing Eren the way to the surface once more. It wasn't long before they got to a door in the roof of the tunnel, Levi lifted up on it and slid it to one side, hoisting himself out with ease. He turned to watch Eren's attempt, chuckling to himself as the kid tried and failed twice before getting enough of a jump to counteract his weight in his butt and legs to get out. Levi kicked the cover back in place and ignored Eren's exasperated blush, not without some level of amusement, the kid looked cute when he was embarrassed, and opened the door to the outside world.

In this case the outside world was an empty lot that was technically private property if anyone still gave a shit about this place. It had an opening to the street and was in a relatively quiet space, which was perfect for Levi and what he needed. He took out the carton and matchbook, placing one of the cigarettes between his lips and bringing a match torn out and lit to the tip of it. He lit the stick and waved the match out, throwing the smoking wood to the ground and grinding it into the ground with the heel of his shoe. Eren watched on in silence, which surprised Levi some. He had expected the kid to be talking nonstop since he opened up the tunnel, not silence. A small movement from the kid and Levi's thoughts paused, wondering what he was going to say.

"Thank you… For earlier." Did he mean the haircut? "I appreciated the wash and cut." Yes, yes he was. "Sorry I didn't say it earlier, I was still surprised." Understandably so. Levi was silent, breathing in the smoke, holding it for a moment, and breathing it out through his nose.

"You're welcome." Eren's head turned up to look at him, the look in his eyes said that he hadn't expected Levi to say anything. "Your hair still looks like it lost to a pair of scissors but now it looks like it was on purpose." Eren's lips tilted up in a grin at that.

Levi watched him out of the corner of his eye, how Eren sank to the ground (gross the kid is going to dust himself off before he steps foot again in his speakeasy), how his eyes reflected the stars, shining in them like their own night sky.

"Butt me." Eren's voice broke the silence as his gaze shifted to the cigarette between Levi's lips.

"I didn't offer."

"Are you going to?" The kid glanced over, curious.

Levi sighed and waved Eren over- No way in hell he was moving, he'd finally gotten comfortable- and pulled a cigarette from the carton and ripped another match from the book. He passed the cigarette to Eren when he finally hoisted himself up and walked closer who put it in his mouth as he saw Levi do earlier. Levi bet himself that the kid had never smoked before and is doing this in an attempt to impress him. He lit the cigarette and watched Eren attempt to inhale it and end up choking.

"You sure you knew what you were about?"

"Oh yeah…" The kid didn't know when his pride had beaten him. "All… The time…" He said between coughs. A second attempt was made and at least this time he didn't cough up a lung. Levi crushed his cigarette, already gone down to the filter, beneath his boot and waited to see what Eren would do.

"...You know, no one would judge you if you put out the cig." Eren breathed it in a third time before taking the stick from his mouth and throwing it to the ground, grinding it under foot as Levi did. "Had enough adult fun, kiddo?" He grinned despite himself.

"How can you do that?" Eren asked, trying to get more air back into his system. "Also don't call me Kiddo, I'm not that young…"

"I've been smoking for a while, kiddo." Levi emphasized the name, grinning inwardly as he saw Eren glower at it's use. "Come on, the night isn't over yet." He gestured back to the tunnel and turned to go, checking behind him that Eren was following. Eren wouldn't stop grinning at some thought and Levi couldn't deny it was contagious. The pair of them didn't talk as they headed back, but it was obvious that they had gotten closer after the outing.


End file.
